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If you are going on more than one holiday in a year then rather than buying cover for each holiday independently, it may be worth considering ‘annual travel insurance’.  For a list of companies providing this type of insurance it is certainly worth visiting a comparison website such as Travel Insurance.co.uk. These sites will also be able to give you details on the extent of each cover and help you to make an informed decision on which is best for you.

Most providers allow you the choice of being able to travel as many times as you want in the year for one all encompassing premium.  Often the cover will allow you to travel for a set period of time.  For example AA Travel’s travel insurance allows you to travel as many times as you want, within a year, for up to 41 days each time.

Your travel insurance should always provide some kind of emergency assistance. In most cases this a helpline that you can phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, if you end up in hospital, you will be able to contact your insurer and expect an immediate response from a friendly customer services representative.

Should you find yourself in a medical emergency, the help that you can expect will depend on the level of insurance you have opted for.  Commonly the insurer will provide payment of medical expenses for a period of time up to an agreed amount, with the amount paid out being largely dependant on the extent of the cover and the premium that you have agreed.  It will also be dependent on whether you have claimed before or not.  Often there will be amount that you have to pay and then the cover will pay in excess of this.  For example, a £50 excess is quite common.

On top of this you can expect a lump sum payout should you have a injury or illness, that has long term lasting effects.  The amount that you are paid will depend, once again, on how the extent of your cover but will also be related to the extent of your injury or illness.  For example if you lose an arm or a leg you will receive a greater payout than if you receive scarring, and so on.  The amount paid will also depend on the age of the person making a claim.  The younger you are, the more that you will be paid, which is because the payout is to cover loss of projected income.

Some types of insurance also offer a payout should you have cancel your holiday at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances.  Cover in this area can be very extensive and it is certainly vital that you examine the small print to see what you are covered for.  For example some insurance covers you if your pet become ill and you are unable to travel, or if you loss your passport.

One final thing is that a lot of insurance companies provide family insurance that allows children under a certain age to go free.  For example, with AA Travel, the travel insurance includes children free of charge when the policy is extended to cover the entire family.